Container for preserving and dispensing roasted coffee



March a, 1928. O. BECKER 2,110,518

CONTAINER FOR PRESERVING AND DISPENSING ROASTING' COFFEE Filed Nov. 21, 1935 Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNITED-STATES- CONTAINER FOR PRESERVING AND DIS- I PENSHVG, ROA STED COFFEE Otto Becker, Berlin, Germany Application November 21, 1935, Serial No. 50,958

In GermanyNovember 12, 1934 4 Claims.

- 5. withdraw goods which are perishable under the action of oxygen and atmospheric elements, such as humidity, at any time and in any desired quantities from such containers and to maintain the existing atmospheric condition in such con- 10 tainers.

The main feature of the invention consists in the fact that an adequate current of an inert gas is suitably supplied under pressure by means 01' a mechanically or hand-actuated valve into the interior or the container afterit is filled and the air is removed. A new supply of gas is effected each time the said container .is opened for the purpose of withdrawing any required quantity of roasted coii'ee. The supply of gas is eil'ected near 20 the exit of the container, whereby the current of gas will not only compensate the reduction of volume within the container, but will also prevent the admission of air. The mentioned valve is suitably actuated in such a manner that the sup- 25 ply of gas is controlled according to the opening and closing of the exit or of a tap. It is, moreover, of advantage to provide the lid or cover of the container with a second valve.

which will blow oil when an over-pressure of gas 30 exists within the container. This lid or cover will prevent the air from entering the container when a vacuum occurs.

The invention alters-compared with the hith-' erto known containers for the withdrawal of roasted coffee, in which the air is evacuated-the great advantage that no volatile aromatic substances flow into the vacuum; as would otherwise be unavoidable.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a. mechanical device according to the invention, as

applied to a container tor'roasted coffee.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a front elevation of the container. Fig. 3 shows the disa charging device and the closing flap on an enlarged scale, wherein the open position of the closing flap is indicated by dot-and-dash lines. The valve-arrangement has been omitted for the sake oi. clearness and is specially illustrated in Fig. 3a. 50 Fig.4 shows a top view of the discharging device seen in the direction of the arrow IV in Fig. 3.

The upper part of the container I is filled with roasted coflee-beans while the lid 2 is opened and the closing flap 3 closed. Thenthe-lid 2 and the 55 packing ring l is tightly compressed upon the neck 1 of the container I by screwing down the winged nuts 5 on the screw-bolts 6.

The lid 2 .is provided with a boring 8 and leads 9, i0 and H carrying a gas-tap. The conduit 10 is combined with a valve 12, which will blow oii if the pressure in the container is too high, and

will prevent the entrance of air if a vacuum is within the container. The coffee is stored in the upper part of the container, the bottom I3 .of which is in an inclined position. 1-.The lower portion of the container is empty and the sides thereof serve as a stand. o

' A circular opening 14' surrounded by a branch I5 is provided in the wall of the upper portion of the container at the lowest point of the bottom 13. At the end of that branch a frame i6 is provided carrying a closing flap 3 in its upper part which is ivotable under the influence of a spring I 8 upon a hinge 11. The supports l9 and on each side of the frame carry the shaft 2|, which is so arranged as to rotate by meanseoi the lever 22 with the disc 23. When the said lever 22 is moved forwards and downwards, the cocentric 24 connected with it will turn upwards, the flap,3 is released and opened by means of the spring 18, until the said jflap coincides with the inclined eccentric 24. The coffee-beans now have a free passage towards the outside through the scoop-like device. When the lever 22 is again moved upwards the eccentric 24 will close the flap 3 by forcing its annular section 25 against the rubber packing 26, while the eccentric 24 touches upon the nose of the flap 3.

The branch I5 is fitted witha hollow ring 28 near the front end, the inner side of which is open underneath. The branch 15 is perforated with about twelve borings 29 each' with a diameter of about one millimetre. The annular ring 28 is provided with a hose connection 30 which together with the hose 3| and the pipe 32 forms a gas-conduit. The-inert gas is supplied from the gas container 34 and is emitted at 32, entering the tube- 33 by means of a hose connected at 33. The tube 33 is secured to'the gas valve 35 which is opened and closed by means of the movable valve pin 35. When the flap 3 is closed, the pin- 36 rests in the groove of the disc 23, releasing the spring in the valve 35 and compressing the closing cone inside the valve 35. When the flap 3 is opened, the disc 23 rotates and the pin 36, leaving the groove, is thereupon means of a thin rubber-disc upon a resilient pressed down. It will thus exert a pressure by the tube 32, the hose II, the tube 30 and the holes 29 into the interior of the branch II. It compensates not only the loss of volume amounting to about 1% litres per pound of coflee withdrawn, but moreover by means of an increased supply of gas through the holes 29 it will prevent the on of airthanks to an exit oi. gas flowing out with the coiIee-beans under the opened fiap 3. v

Prior to coffee, the upper portion of the container holding the cofifee, is evacuated while the fiap 3 is closed and then filled with aninertgas. Thisisefl'ectedinsuchamanner that the tap at H on the lid 2 is opened, as is also the closed tap l0. The'gas, entering by means of the tube 33, flows through the pipes 31 and 38, the tube 32 and the above mentioned connection, through the holes 29 and into the interior of the container.

The pmage of about one hundred litres of inert gas at a pressure of atmosphere will sumce to remove the airfrom a container with a volume of about 50 lltres,- filled with 40 pounds of roasted coffee beans, and to fill the container with an inert gas such as nitrogen; The overpressure will then be removed either by means of the valve II or at a later opening of the fiap 3. When the operation is finished, the taps 40 and II must be closed again.

The maintenance of the atmosphere of inert gas within the container, however often coil'ee be extracted'therefrom, is efifected entirely automatically by the slightest openingot the flap 3 and the closing thereof, after the gas pressure required for this purpose and the quantity of gas intended to pass through the perforations 29 per minute have been adjusted.

I claim:

1. Container for dispensing any desired quantities of goods, in particular roasted cofifee, kept in an atmosphere of an inert gas under the excluslon oi the outside air, comprising an' opening for the material at the lower part of the container closed by means a flap; a valve controlling the entrance of inert gas into the" contamer; and an arrangement for bringing into unison the working of the valve with the movement of the flap.

2. Container for dispensing any desired quantitles of goods, in particular roasted coflee, kept in atmosphere of an inert gas under the exclusion of the outside air, comprising an opening for the materlal at the lower part of the.container closed by means of a flap which opens under the influence 01 a springas soon as the flap is released by means of a driven lever; a valve controlling the entranceof inert gas into the container; and an arrangement for bringing into unison the working oi the valve with the movement of the flap.

3. Container for dispensing any desired quantitles ofgoods, comprising an opening for the material at the lower part of the container closed by means of a fiap; a valve controlling the entrance of inert gas into the container by means of a hollow ring surrounding the outlet branch into which the gas passes through openings; and an arrangement for bringing into unison the working of the valve 'with the movement of the flap.

4. Container for dispensing any desired quantitles of goods, comprising an opening for the material at the lower part of the container closed by means of a flap through a lever-on an axle; a valve controlling the entrance of inert gas into the container; and an arrangement for bringing into unison the working of the valve 

